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In response to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's
public information session discussing the competitiveness of the real
estate industry, there are three main points to be considered:

Multiple Listing Services are not utilities, they are cooperatives
offering broker-to-broker compensations that helps both brokers and
consumers buy and sell homes. Real estate companies of all sizes can
compete on a non-discriminatory, level playing field by having access
to an inventory of properties.

The new ILD policy allows consumers to select an MLS member with
whom they want to work and whether to permit marketing of their property
on the Internet. Sellers can "opt in" to have their properties
displayed on the Internet even if their broker does not participate
in sharing his listings for Internet display. This is a win-win situation
for both the consumers and Realtors.

Real estate is an industry made up predominately of small businesses
and independent contractors in an economy dominated by large national
corporations. Even through the economic downturns, our industry continues
to provide opportunity for new agents willing to train and qualify as
professionals. When consumers have a choice (over 76,000 brokerage firms
and more than 1.2 million Realtors) the competitive business environment
flourishes.

These factors must be taken into account before any final decision
on the competitiveness of the real estate industry is made.